This invention relates to signal splitters, more particularly the invention relates to splitters with multiple branch circuits suitable for splitting signals over a very wide frequency range.
In distribution systems, such as CATV (community antenna television) systems, a television signal originating at one location is split, often many times, between the originating location and the destination locations. In the simplest form a split may be accomplished by an input signal line connecting to a center tap on a winding of a distribution transformer with the end leads of the winding constituting the two new signal lines. This results in the characteristic impedance at each of the new signal lines being twice that at the input signal line. It is known to utilize a matching transformer at the input signal line before the distribution transformer to appropriately reduce the characteristic impedance at the signal line intermediate the transformers to half that at the input signal line. Then the doubling effect of the characteristic impedance at the distribution transformer results in each of the output signal lines with the same characteristic impedance as at the input signal line. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,245 to Wright, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
In splitters for use with CATV, and the like, it is important to have excellent return loss characteristics at the ports as well as reasonable insertion loss characteristics and port isolation characteristics, all of which should be maintained throughout the frequency spectrum of the device. The wider the operable frequency spectrum, the better.
Prior art splitters have attempted to provide favorable performance characteristics over a wide range of frequencies but have generally proved deficient, particularly in the higher frequencies, i.e. 500 to 750 mhz.
A multiple output port splitter device is needed that provides excellent performance characteristics from 5 mhz. to 750 mhz.